Arch Linux

memory_leak

Member

Registered: 2015-03-02

Posts: 43

Windows 10 on Linux

I am planning to build a new machine, and I have serious thought to get 950 pro 512 gigabyte and run windows only in virtualbox. I had thought first to get 2x256 M.2 drives, one for linux and other one for windows, but I do prefer linux for my daily use, and need windows for occasional gaming and some development work (I do earn money on office development ).

My question is how good is graphic performance when windows is run in virtual machine? I will go for GTX980Ti card and I wonder if DX12 will work at all when windows is run through linux driver? Any experience yet? How is gaming prerformance? I am not looking for monster FPS, just for playable enough at 2560 x 1440 resolution (27'' screen). I play Starcraft but that one is not directly a graphic monster of a game, but I might wish to play Unreal Tournament and something else FPS (still haven't done Crysis). I am aware of Wine, but I don't think it is relevant (yet) fr DX12 games, or am I wrong?

alphaniner

Member

From: Ancapistan

Registered: 2010-07-12

Posts: 2,810

Re: Windows 10 on Linux

If you want to game in a VM, you pretty much need a system capable of I/O MMU virtualization. This allows you to dedicate a secondary [physical] video card to the VM. See eg. this and this if you don't know what I'm talking about.

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memory_leak

Member

Registered: 2015-03-02

Posts: 43

Re: Windows 10 on Linux

Interesting.

I am certainly not putting two GTX cards in the system since I hate noise and am not into monster fps rig. How is built-in skylake gpu working in this regard? Can I run X on built in whatever iris, and let windows use geforce card? Any experience?

Edit:

Seems I am not the only one wondering about the issue. I just found this blog post: https://rafalcieslak.wordpress.com/2014 … ssthrough/ .and this one: https://teksyndicate.com/videos/gta-v-l … assthrough .

Seems like it is not impossible, but will take some time to research. Thanks for bringing up the issue.

Last edited by memory_leak (2015-12-28 23:11:38)

PulseWave

Member

Registered: 2015-12-31

Posts: 2

Re: Windows 10 on Linux

You could have a Linux machine with a Windows VM but if you aren't doing anything graphics intensive, it would be easier to just have a Windows machine with a Linux VM installed instead. Not only would this allow you to play all your games natively at their best performance, this setup would required the least work yet still provide you with all the benifits. Of course the last resort is always dual booting.

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,601

Re: Windows 10 on Linux

...yet still provide you with all the benifits.

Except for keeping Windows properly sandboxed in a safe environment.

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satanselbow

Member

Registered: 2011-06-15

Posts: 538

Re: Windows 10 on Linux

Of course the last resort is always dual booting.

If you want unrestricted performance from both/all of your chosen OS - dualboot would be your 1st resort, surely?

tom.ty89

Member

Registered: 2012-11-15

Posts: 897

Re: Windows 10 on Linux

AFAIK VirtualBox at most support DX9 / OpenGL 3.0 or so. Maybe even just partially. Depending on your card, NVIDIA driver in Linux supports up to OpenGL 4.5. None of these matters if you do VGA passthrough with IOMMU on qemu/kvm.

mrunion

Member

From: Jonesborough, TN

Registered: 2007-01-26

Posts: 1,938

Website

Re: Windows 10 on Linux

...yet still provide you with all the benifits.

You must have a vastly different opinion on what "benefit" means!

I agree with ewaller, though. Unless you just HAVE to have Windows usig all the hardware, but that thing in a VM.

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memory_leak

Member

Registered: 2015-03-02

Posts: 43

Re: Windows 10 on Linux

I am tired of dual booting; I have done that since 1998, and now almost 20 years after, I really hope I can go Linux (nearly) full-time. Yes I have had a thought AND experience of running linux in a wm, but I would prefer the other way around really, for safety (as ewaller pointed to you), quality of user experience (I have my own preferance of what quality is), and not less moral reasons. I also do want/need 3d acceleration in Linux as well, though mostly for developing purposes. To be honest, for a machine that is not used to controll other unix machines I really see no purpose to run Linux in a wm for daily use, especially if I need Windows just to be able to play some games occasionally and do some VBA development from time to time. Sounds like really backward solution to me . Better to run Windows in WM when it is needed.

When it comes to performance, I am not a number chaser, I don't need the highest FPS rate to confirm my e-penis size on some online forum, but it does not mean I want to restrict my gaming to occasional Solitaire or Mahjong. I am also a developer and I do play a lot with OpenGL development in both environments, and I am interested to see what latest DX12 games bring to the table. I am OK to loose some performance, as long as *some* does not equal to *most*. Altso, to make it clear, Pass-through for graphics sounds like a reasonable solution. I have not done it yet, so I will certainly test it as soon as I get my stuff and new machine is put together.

Last edited by memory_leak (2016-01-02 00:14:36)

014

Member

Registered: 2015-11-11

Posts: 7

Re: Windows 10 on Linux

For what you're saying, my suggestion would be to want DX12 less and use Wine / PlayOnLinux. That's my two cents. Full disclosure: I dual boot to play my Windows-only games.

smnpl

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2015-01-07

Posts: 54

Re: Windows 10 on Linux

For gaming / stuff that needs decent 3D acceleration I agree with most here: Dual boot is the only viable solution. For pretty much everything else Windows-only a virtual box will do more than just fine. Doing both myself actually.
Windows dual boot for a couple of games only
Windows vm for some work related MS office stuff / Windows development and my tax software

(Keeping a vm as well as dualboot in order to avaid booting windows nativeliy as much as possible)

Last edited by smnpl (2016-01-05 09:28:19)

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The road to wisdom? - Well, it's plain and simple to express: Err and err and err again but less and less and less. - Piet Hein -